Mikael Mattlin, Research Professor at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, has received competitive funding of EUR 139,000 from Business Finland for the research project Technical Standards as Critically Intangible Capital for Finnish Companies in an Era of Strategic Competition (StandardEdge). The project is carried out as a joint project between the IPR University Center (Hanken), LUT University and FIIA. The total funding for the project is EUR 500,000.

The 2023 Business Finland call for applications included three main themes: dynamics and new technologies in service industries, intangible capital and capabilities, and creative industries and renewal.

The project by the IPR University Center, FIIA and the LUT University analyses the importance and risks of regulation on technical standards and intellectual property (IP) for Finnish companies and the Finnish economy. Technical standards are the engine of innovation, economic growth, and productivity in a networked knowledge-based economy. Standards have become a playing field for strategic competition between the key economic blocs (US, China, EU). Intellectual property, and more specifically patents, is a significant instrument in the management of standards.

FIIA’s share of the project is carried out at the institute’s Center on Global Orders and China and is led by Mikael Mattlin. Senior Research Fellow Elina Sinkkonen is also involved in the project. The project will take place between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2025.

Deputy Director (act.)